First look at CBeebies Land Hotel at Alton Towers
Leo Bear and her five-year-old daughter visit the CBeebies Land Hotel at Alton Towers
The lowdown:
CBeebies Land (the theme park) has been around since 2014, but this hotel is a brand-new offering, firmly directed at families with toddlers.
What to expect:
CBeebies jingle music on a loop from the moment you walk in. A brilliantly child-friendly check-in desk with steps allowing little-ones to chat with the receptionist. A fuzzy green monster from The Furchester Hotel in place of a regular concierge. Regular ‘appearances’ from CBeebies characters including Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy and Postman Pat in the communal bar/recreation room. Butlins-style fun in the evenings from 5pm-9pm with plenty of joining in and prizes to be won.
The rooms:
Great fun, well conceived and comfy. All the rooms are themed and have two separate areas: one for parents and one for children. There’s a double-bed for ma and pa, bunk beds for the kids (with trundle bed), and a cotbed folded away in a drawer. A veritable toddler’s paradise, there are bright crazy carpets, interactive wall games including a heat-sensitive plate for leaving handprints on, plus all the kit you’d need for a baby; including bottle warmer, kettle and baby bath. In the bathroom, there’s a toddler step, plastic cups for toothbrushes and kid-friendly shampoo and shower gels. Both areas have their own wall-mounted TVs. Everything is wipe-clean and unbreakable.
The food:
At the Windmill restaurant, there’s a large salad bar you can help yourself to (salad is free with every meal order placed). For mains, it’s the usual kiddy fare: pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, burgers. Breakfast is ace with plenty of healthy options including almond milk, fresh berries and yoghurt.
Service:
Mostly excellent and super-upbeat although some of the staff behind the bar were still in training.
Good to know:
Guests of the hotel are allowed entry into CBeebies Land an hour before it opens to the general public. The theme park is a 10-minute walk then short monorail ride away (allow 20mins in total). Fast Passes are not available for CBeebies Land. The rides feel quite tired, although this year there are two brand-new ones: Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride and The Furchester Hotel Live Show (although sadly the queues were too long for us to experience them).
A few quibbles…:
In the hotel (and theme park) the Wi-Fi often drops out, and some of the TV stations didn’t work properly and were pixelated. Check-out is early – 10am – but you can request a later check-out of 11am if necessary. The bar ran out of bottled water for lunch boxes but we were provided with a large glass bottle to share instead (not ideal).
Rooms at CBeebies Land Hotel start from £197 for a family of four, including breakfast
altontowers.com/cbeebies-land-hotel
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